Version 2, effective November 1, 2026
Ancient coinage is history you can hold in your hand, and also one of the categories most exposed to looting and illicit trafficking. That is why it will have its own rules on Gold Silver Global, more demanding than those of the rest of the marketplace. This page previews them, so that you can prepare the documentation for your pieces in good time.
The section opens in 2027
Today ancient coins cannot be listed on Gold Silver Global. The Ancient Coins section opens in 2027. Until then, a listing that includes them in another category is removed. On the Ancient Coins page you can click “Notify me” in each subsection and we will write to you when it opens.
Which pieces it applies to
To the pieces in the twelve subsections of Ancient Coins.
- Ancient Greece.
- Roman Republic.
- Roman Empire.
- Roman Provincial.
- Celts and other ancient peoples.
- Byzantium.
- Islamic.
- Medieval.
- Early Modern, 16th to 18th centuries.
- World, 19th and 20th centuries.
- Classic United States.
- China and Asia.
And in addition, whatever its period, to any piece with heritage value. That is, one that comes from an excavation or a find, one that forms part of a country's protected heritage, one that has left a museum or a public collection, or one that a country considers its property by law.
The principle, demonstrable provenance
An ancient coin can be sold here only if it can be shown where it comes from and that it left its country of origin lawfully. It is not enough for the piece to be authentic. It has to be lawful, and the seller has to be able to prove it with documents.
The international framework, the 1970 UNESCO Convention
The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property is the worldwide reference in this area. Most countries have ratified it, among them the United States and all the Member States of the European Union, and it has brought into their laws the obligation to control the outflow and inflow of cultural property.
That is why the market takes 1970 as its reference date. A piece documented outside its country of origin before that year, or exported afterwards with a license, has a solid provenance. A piece with no history before 1970 and no export license needs a very convincing explanation.
European Union
Importing into the EU, Regulation (EU) 2019/880
Regulation (EU) 2019/880 governs the introduction and import into the Union of cultural goods created or discovered outside it.
- It prohibits introducing into the Union cultural goods that left illegally the country where they were created or discovered, whatever their age and value.
- It requires an import license for objects from archaeological excavations or finds more than 250 years old, whatever their value.
- It requires an importer statement for other cultural goods, ancient coins included, more than 200 years old and with a value equal to or above €18,000.
The license and the statement are processed in the Union's electronic system and require documenting that the piece left its country of origin lawfully.
Exporting outside the EU, Regulation (EC) 116/2009
Regulation (EC) 116/2009 requires an export license to take certain cultural goods out of the customs territory of the Union. Among them, archaeological objects more than 100 years old from excavations or finds, whatever their value, and other antique goods above the value thresholds set by the regulation itself. The license is issued by the authority of the Member State where the piece is located.
Within the EU
Each Member State protects its own heritage and may require authorization for a piece to leave its territory, also toward another country of the Union. Directive 2014/60/EU requires the return of cultural goods that have illegally left a Member State. The seller is responsible for complying with the law of the country where the piece is located.
Iraq and Syria
The European Union prohibits trade in cultural goods illegally removed from Iraq and Syria, under Regulation (EC) 1210/2003 and Regulation (EU) 36/2012. Gold Silver Global does not accept pieces from those origins without documentation of lawful export from before those prohibitions.
United States
Cultural Property Implementation Act
The Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) implements the 1970 UNESCO Convention in the United States. It prohibits importing cultural property stolen from museums, monuments or institutions of other signatory countries, and allows restricting the import of archaeological and ethnological material from the countries that request it.
Import restrictions by country
The United States maintains import restrictions agreed with various countries through bilateral agreements, or adopted as emergency measures. Some cover certain types of ancient coin, for example from Cyprus, Italy, Greece or Bulgaria. The lists of restricted material are published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and change over time.
A piece included in those lists can enter the United States only with an export certificate from the country of origin or with documentation showing that it left that country before the date of the restriction. Without that document, customs may seize it.
Other rules
- The United States also prohibits the import of cultural property illegally removed from Iraq and Syria.
- Knowingly selling, transporting or receiving stolen goods, including foreign cultural property, is a federal crime under the National Stolen Property Act.
Other countries
Many countries consider everything found underground or underwater to be state property, and prohibit or limit the export of their antiquities and their ancient coins. If the piece is outside the European Union and the United States, the seller must also comply with the law of the country where it is located and that of the country of origin.
Required provenance documentation
When the section opens, each ancient coin listing will have to come with this documentation.
- Precise identification of the piece. Catalog reference, weight, diameter and photos of obverse and reverse.
- Proof that you bought it lawfully. Invoice, auction catalog with the lot, contract or equivalent document, with a date.
- History of the piece. The previous owners that are known, with documents. Old auction catalogs, collection inventories, publications, dated photographs or letters.
- Export and import licenses, when the law requires them. Export license from the country of origin or the European Union, import license or importer statement in the Union, or certificate required by the United States.
- Seller's sworn statement, signed on the website, that the piece does not come from an illegal excavation, is not stolen, left its country of origin lawfully and the documentation is authentic.
For pieces of archaeological origin, the history will have to show that the piece was outside its country of origin before 1970 or that it left afterwards with a license.
What is not accepted
- Pieces without provenance documentation when the law or these rules require it.
- Pieces from recent excavations or from finds without the legal documentation of the find and the permits of the country where they occurred.
- Lots of uncleaned coins or with soil on them, typical of recent looting.
- Pieces of the types that appear on the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Red Lists without a solid provenance.
- Pieces from Iraq or Syria without documented lawful export from before the prohibitions.
- Pieces covered by United States import restrictions without the required certificate or documentation, when the buyer is in the United States.
- Pieces that appear as stolen in Interpol's database of stolen works of art or in other registries.
- Any piece for which there are serious signs of unlawful provenance.
How Gold Silver Global will verify
- Each ancient coin listing will be reviewed by a person before it is published. There is no automatic approval.
- The documentation provided will be checked and cross-checked against public databases, such as Interpol's database of stolen works of art and the ICOM Red Lists.
- Gold Silver Global may ask for additional documentation or a physical verification of the piece in the GSG Vault strongroom before publishing it or before releasing the payment.
- Gold Silver Global may reject a piece when its provenance is not clear, even if the seller acts in good faith. The decision is notified with reasons and can be appealed, as explained in Prohibited and Restricted Products.
Responsibility of the seller and the buyer
- The seller is responsible for the lawfulness of the piece and the authenticity of the documentation they provide, and for complying with the export rules of the country where the piece is located.
- Whoever imports the piece is responsible for the import procedures in their country, such as the license or the importer statement in the European Union. Before buying, check that you will be able to import it.
- Gold Silver Global reviews, but does not replace the authorities. That a listing is published does not guarantee that a customs office will accept the piece.
If there is suspicion of unlawful provenance
The piece is removed, the transaction is stopped and the payment is not released. Gold Silver Global keeps the documentation and, where appropriate, informs the competent authorities, such as the customs and police of the corresponding country or, in the United States, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Relationship with other pages
This page complements Prohibited and Restricted Products, Claims and Disputes and the Terms and Conditions. The section's commission rules will be published on Fees when it opens.
Gold Silver Global LLC, 8 The Green STE B, Dover, DE 19901, United States. For any question, write to us from the Contact form with the topic Legal.
This document exists in several languages. If versions differ, the English version prevails, without prejudice to the rights that the law of your country grants you as a consumer.
Last updated October 2, 2026